Revolution Watch: Episode 8 - Ties That Bind

With the task of following up two of the best episodes of Revolution yet, the show crumbles under the pressure by presenting another mediocre episode of lackluster storytelling involving Nora’s “wrench in the plan” sister, Neville’s manipulative wife, and a militiaman with the hope of bringing pain to others while attempting to retrieve the pendant for Monroe.

Strausser, The Big And The Not So BadLast week Jason internally freaked out when Monroe said that Strausser would be going after Charlie’s group in order to get the pendant and Miles, building him up into one scary individual. Even Miles calls him a sociopath in their final confrontation, but as for seeing him in action, Strausser is a pretty lame duck. He did stab someone with a twisting blade after epically failing to put a bullet hole in anyone during the close-range ambush on the bridge, but that was one of his own men, thus only awarding him half a point of credibility in the men to fear department. But other than that, all he does is run after Miles for about two steps before somehow managing to lose him during the commercial break, make a dumb statement about society being wrong about caging people like him, and hide behind a tree that was too small to mask his full mass. Even the "we have your sister and she is going to painfully die in a rather slow fashion unless you help us" bit was all a lie in order to get someone else to retrieve the pendant, leading to him being a weak villain built up by a whole lot of undeserved talk. Please, please rectify this, Revolution writers.

Worst Family ReunionIf there is anything to be learned from this show, it is that family ruins everything more often than not, especially if they think that what they’re doing is in the best interest of someone else. Just look at Rachel, who is currently helping the militia gain the power of electricity in order to keep her son safe. And now there is Mia, who somehow managed to escape redemption through death by simply disappearing from Nora’s life when Nora tells her not to follow, making her the first person in the show’s history to actually follow that order.

Argument points out that Mia was doing this to protect her family, holding up the agreement she made with her sister long ago when they realized they were the only ones left to look out for each other. But then at some point Nora and Mia went separate ways as the elder sister chose to fight for the world and the younger went the selfish route of protecting herself as a militia pet who seems to be willing to do anything to keep from being put down by the hand that feeds her. Did she really think that Nora would be ok with what she traded in order to ensure their safety?

The Snake In The EarWe’ve seen where Neville came from and the man he is today, but tonight when his family is threatened we get a glimpse of the member of the family that might deserve more wariness than Neville. After all, someone who can whisper in the ear of a strong man in order to manipulate his actions is someone to be feared. That’s how people get kicked out of gardens.

Who knows what Mrs. Neville was saving the information about Colonel John Faber’s traitorous son for, but she conveniently had the information at the ready tonight in order to save Jason thanks to a maid who just happened to spill the gossip days ago, even though she looked far too intimidated by the woman tonight to believe that they often share friendly conversations with each other. But no matter the case, Neville puts his family first by using the information, making Monroe’s comment about not being able to trust Faber anymore rather pointed since he is talking to a man who falls into the same position of seeking to protect his own “traitorous” son. Now it is just a question of what Neville would be willing to do for his son if this information had not fallen into his lap, and if he will listen to the whispers of his wife about his greatness and deserved place above the weakening Monroe.

Final ThoughtsWith far too little story being milked for the episode’s entirely, there is little more to discuss in addition to Mia constantly pulling out the family card, Charlie having absolutely nothing to do with this episode other than showing up from time to time to eavesdrop on conversations from the background, and the boring lack of confrontation in the meetings between our group and Big Bad Strausser. Luckily with next week’s preview, things look to be picking up once more. Fingers crossed.

So what did you think of the episode? Were you surprised to see that Charlie must have swam back to the conscription boat in order to retrieve her favorite leather jacket? Did you wonder why there was no acknowledgement of her recent branding? Should Nora lose the bag of explosives if it is just going to make everything easy? We know the sister wasn’t actually being tortured, but goodness, let’s at least feign some level of difficulty in that escape. Are you hoping the pendant continues to only work when it wants to now that Rachel is going to use it to help Monroe? And last, but not least, what the heck was that room that Randall and Grace looked into? Camera pullouts usually reveal something that is recognizable, but I am at a loss for what we were shown. Let me know if you have a better idea of what this enormous, empty room was, as well as any other thought you have on this episode.